Final Fantasy: Existance
by Salmonpuff
Summary: 100 years have passed in Rabanstre since Ashe saved Ivalice from destruction. The world has changed, strange creatures stalk the earth and Ivalice is covered in mist. Zidane finds himself in Ivalice, with the friendship of Queen Freya Bnargin Dalmasca


**ONE**

The young woman sighed as she gazed out across the streets of Rabanastre. It was a beautiful day, and gorgeous white birds were cavorting in the bright blue sky. She envied them their freedom, while she was stuck in the palace. Grumbling to herself, her eyes watched as the airships flew among the birds towards their port at the aerodrome. Again, she envied the freedom of the people on those airships. They were able to go where they wished, while she was stuck in the palace.

She heard stories of the world outside, of beautiful grasslands the world over. She heard there were villages of strange people, not humes like she was, but of Viera and Bangaa. She wanted more than anything to visit those places, but knew that her standing would not allow her to just leave the city.

She was a princess, heir to the throne of Rabanastre. Princess Freya B'nargin Dalmasca to be exact. And she was a descendant of Queen Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, the famous queen who had saved Ivalice from destruction at the hands of the archadian empire so many years ago. Ashelia was long since dead, but her name lived on. The people of the city always said how Freya looked like Ashelia, always compared the two of them. And Freya always brushed the comments aside, her reply always _How can I be like a woman who has been dead these past one hundred years? _Yet Ashelia had gone on an epic adventure all those years ago in the company of a young thief and his friend, a sky pirate, a vierra and a warrior of Rabanastre and together they had overthrown the Archadian empire.

Freya wanted to do something like that.

Yet despite the hard work that Ashelia and her party had put in with saving Ivalice from utter destruction, the world was not as it once was. Stories were rife of the lands surrounding Rabanastre having been overtaken with mist, of huge monsters attacking travellers. And these were not just the ordinary types of monsters that one came across while travelling through the Estersand, but larger ones. And not only that, there were reports of strange types of people appearing in the cities of ivalice. She had not seen any herself, but had heard that there were people wandering around who called themselves Burnicians and claimed to be Dragon warriors, that there were strange humes wandering around with tails.

What she wouldn't give to be able to see these people. Instead she was shut away, being taught how to be a good queen. Her father was on his last legs, working to build a better relationship with the Rozarian Empire. Time was that Dalmasca and Rozaria had been great allies, but since the strange incidents in Ivalice, Rosaria had turned sour towards them, threatened war. And now, there was the ever present threat of invasion from the Rozarian fleet. What had happened to the ally that Dalmasca had once known through the marriage of Ashelia and Prince Rasler, all those years ago. Freya sighed, wishing things could be like they were back then, when the kingdom was relatively peaceful.

She turned away then and moved across the room, her long red gown swishing about her long legs and looked at herself in the mirror. A young woman looked back at her with shoulder length light blonde hair, almost white and bright blue eyes. Her face was incredibly pale, yet she was told incredibly beautiful. And in some ways she saw that. Yet, there was no way she could look like Queen Ashelia. The portraits of that woman gave out an air of an incredibly beautiful woman who knew how to fight for what she believed in. And Freya did not believe she was anything like that.

From somewhere deep within the palace a bell rang, loud and clear. She sighed, gripped the edge of the wooden dressing table until her hands went white. That bell signalled that it was time for her to go off and act like a princess. A travelling band of actors were coming to the palace today and she would be required to attend.

At that moment, the door to her chambers opened and one of the palace guards bowed his head, "My Lady, the actors have arrived and are awaiting you in the courtyard…"

She sighed and nodded, "Thank you Joseph…" she gave him a smile, "You work too hard for me…"

The guard removed his helmet, revealing the face of a young man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Many scars adorned his face yet it gave him that dashing handsome look that she so often lusted after in a man. Joseph Rosenburg, great great grandson of Bash Fon Ronsenburg protector of the Lady Ashe, was her most trusted guard and knight.

He grinned at her, "It's all in a days work my Lady. I know you do not want to go…yet your father has requested you there, so alas I must bring you, no matter how painful it is for me to see you so down…"

She smiled at him then, and gently touched his armoured arm, "It is all right Joseph. I trust you, and you are quite possibly the only one in this place who I can…come, let us get this over with…"

He nodded then, placing his helmet under his arm and leading her through the winding corridors of the Royal Palace of Rabanstre.

***

**The Courtyard**

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Children of all ages! May I present to you, the actor guild, Tantalus!"

Freya sighed as the crowd of palace workers and nobles went wild. Yet she could not share their excitement. This was just a guild of actors who travelled Ivalice looking for a few Gil to put in their pockets, and they likely weren't even good actors. She frowned and leant on her hands, receiving a look off her father that could wilt Galbana Lillies, yet she did not care. She watched with blank eyes as the actors came onto the makeshift stage, and it was only then that she looked up.

One of the actors was a young man, and he had a tail. She stared at him in awe, barely able to concentrate on the play itself. He was wonderful, of medium height and blonde hair that fell about his face. He wore strange clothes that showed off his muscles. But there he was, a young man with a tail, straight out of the stories from the palace gossips. He looked like a hume, but evidently he was not.

_I will kill you, mangy curr, for harming her honour_

And his voice was even more beautiful than he was. She felt herself melt as he spoke the lines. After a moment, she gestured at Joseph.

"Yes my lady?"

"I want to meet him…" she whispered

"My Lady, I am not sure that is such a good idea. This guild is known for it's erm…thieving tendancies…"

She grinned, "I could use an adventure joseph…"

He sighed and nodded, "I Will arrange it my lady…"

She half smiled to herself as Joseph walked away, before turning back to look at the handsome young man with the tail.

***

"Seriously, how the hell did we end up here marcus?"

From across the room, a gnome like man looked up from a mug of ale and shrugged before removing his cap, "I dunno Zidane…just did…and lemme tell you, this certainly aint where we're from. This aint no Gaia…and your girl certainly aint here…"

Zidane's tail twitched nervously and he ran his hands through his hair. That was true, since waking up in this strange world all those weeks ago, he had left hid Dagger, his princess, behind. She was probably wondering where he was, probably thought he had run off to be a thief again. But that was far from the truth. A night in the ale house had ended up with him and his old guild waking up somewhere they had never seen before. That camp had been one of the strangest experiences of his life, the way they dressed, the heat of the sand on his skin.

"_Where are we?" He had demanded at a woman stood standing over them._

"_Giza Plains lad…"_

"_Never heard of it. How far are we from Alexandria?"_

_The woman had looked confused, "Alexandria…never heard of it. There's Archadia, but you'd have to get an airship there. Closest city is Rabanastre, just over the way there…"_

"_But where are we?"_

_The woman had shrugged, her eyes suddenly catching his tail, "You ent from here are ya? Just like that mist and those hideous beasts…lad, this is the kingdom of Dalmasca, the world of Ivalice…and I hate to say it, but if those beasts can't leave and go home, then I daresay you can either…"_

Zidane frowned, he still had no idea where he was. He had never heard of Ivalice, nor did he really care what was going on. He had woken up in a strange place called Giza Plains without his girl and without his friends. That caused him to chuckle a little. Without his friends indeed. The only one who he truly considered his friend who was with him right now was little Vivi. The little black mage was currently sat in the corner playing around with some form of magic, making things appear and disappear at his will. Zidane had no clue where everyone else.

He sighed and picked up his mug of ale, his tail flicking irritably. This world was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The age of steam was long gone, and now things were happening through use of a thing called Magicite. It was something they did not have on Gaia. The creatures walking the streets of the cities were creatures he never thought to have existed. Sighing once more, he dropped into the old comfy sofa and took more gulps of his ale. He barely heard as the door to the palace back room opened and the clank of a knight could be heard. He really didn't care for all this, didn't care if the royalty of this city wanted to give them their condolences.

_Her majesty wishes an audience with Zidane Tribal_

He barely noticed, even when little Vivi looked up with his bright yellow eyes with a questioning look in his eyes. The little black mage often questioned his existence, yet when he gave looks like that, Zidane knew full well that the little black mage did exist.

"Zidane?"

He looked up then, saw the guard had removed his helmet and was looking him right in the eyes, "What?"

The guard gave nothing away of his feelings, "Her majesty the lady Freya wishes an audience with you"

Zidane sighed, downed the last of his wine before standing up, "Well then, I suppose I can't keep _her majesty _waiting…"

The guard frowned, but said nothing more. Instead, he gestured for the young man to follow. Zidane spared one last look at Vivi, whose bright yellow eyes had never left him before shrugging and following the young knight out of the room.

***

Princess Freya B'nargin Dalmasca barely moved as she once more gazed across the view of rabanastre from her chamber window. She wished more than anything that she could be down there wandering the streets of the city, mixing with the towns people, visiting the ale house. Yet she could not. It was apparently below her. From behind her, she heard her chamber doors open and the familiar clank of Joseph's armour echoe throughout her room.

"Your majesty, may I present Zidane Tribal of the actors guild, Tantalus…"

She turned then, and smiled at her old friend. He returned it with a small half smile before bowing his head. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the young actor. There was just something about him that she couldn't place. He looked like a Hume, yet his eyes were much larger than anyone's she had ever seen. And then there was the tail. It quivered in some form of nervousness that was not conveyed in his eyes.

She smiled and walked forward, and she noticed how he looked her up and down. Evidently he was nervous at meeting a princess of the house of Dalmasca.

"Zidane Tribal…"

He grinned upon hearing her voice. It was so musical, with a beautiful lilt upon it. He shrugged, "That's me…humble actor…your highness…"

She laugehd then, a beautiful laugh, "Please, call me freya…come, sit with me Zidane…"

He glanced at the guard who nodded somberly, and in a moment he noded and joined her, sitting on the comfy seat offered her. She noticed how stiff he looked, how nervous and she gently touched his arm.

"Please, do not be nervous. I am just a person…Joseph, please leave us…"

The guard nodded and left the room, closing the door gently behind him. She turned to him then, smiling widely at him, "Zidane…your play was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life. It made me think for a moment that I was free of this place…" she waved her arm, "But tell me, I have never seen a man of your kind before…tell me, what are you…if it is not too bold of me to ask?"

He gazed at her for a moment before shrugging, "I should have known this was coming…"

She raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

He sighed, his tail switching in aggravation, "You must have heard the stories of all the strange goings on? The strange people appearing, the weird monsters? The mist covering the sands outside the city?" he saw her nod and continued, "I am not from here my lady…this world I mean…my world is called Gaia…and there we have continents covered in mist…horrible monsters stalking the plains. I don't know what happened, but one day I woke up in Giza Plains, not knowing where I was, and the place was covered in mist like it is back home…"

He sighed and looked at her, "Something very wrong is happening…I have been torn from my home, and your world is much like my own now…and by the sounds of it your world is on the brink of war. I hear that Rozaria will invade any day now…and that they have help from Archadia…"

She gasped at his words, hardly daring to believe that they were true. Yet they must be, his kind had never been seen in Ivalice before now, and the world was indeed changing, they were on the brink of war.

Her face set, "What you say is true…I can feel it…"

She stood up and he watched as she made her way over to a glass cabinet in the corner of the room. It held a beautiful sword, which looked incredibly sharp. He watched as with a fast flick of the wrist she opened the cabinet and took the massive blade out. Zidance watched in awe as she held the blade with ease, as if it matched her personality with ease.

"What is that?"

She shrugged, "The Sword of Kings, gained by my ancestor, Queen Ashelia, one hundred years past…with it she helped to save Dalmasca from the Archadian Empire…"

Zidane sighed, "I cannot ask you to leave your duties madam…"

"You do not understand…Rozaria will invade anyday. It is as if history is repeating itself. My father is due to sign a treaty with them, yet they and archadia will betray us I can feel it. A resistance must be set up. Rozaria must have something to do with everything that is happening here? It was the same all those years ago with Archadia…they killed Ashelia's father, wrongfully accused her guard of his murder and proceeded to take over Dalmasca…"

"So you want to fight it early?"

She shrugged, "Maybe it is too late…" she drifted off in thought.

"But you can't!"

She turned on him, a fire in her eyes and he jumped back, "I'm trying to concentrate!"

He watched her then as her mind worked and she muttered words barely legible.

_Resistance, yes. The rozarian deligate will be here within a few hours, and it is probably best for the city for me to dissapear and fight what is happening here. I will do as Ashelia did, all those years ago. I will have the Marquis of Brujerba announce my death to Ivalice, and let Rozaria occupy Rabanastre for a time…and I will head the resistance, fight what is happening here…_

She looked at him then and grinned, "You want to get home, am I correct?" she did not wait for his reply, "Then I will fight with you…I will go into hiding, and we will find the cause of what is happening here, so you can return home and this world can return to what it must…"

He grinned then, seeing a flame of passion in her eyes, "Seriously?"

She returned his smile, "Seriously…"

Nothing more needed to be said. He took her hand and they shook, her hand strong and tough. And Zidane Tribal knew then that he had found a friend and fellow warrior for life, someone who would help him get home.


End file.
